An 18-3 third-quarter run by Liberty doomed WKU Women’s Basketball, falling 60-54 at Liberty Arena Saturday afternoon. 

A 34-26 halftime lead for the Lady Toppers was undone in the third quarter, shooting just 7% from the field and making just one shot. The Flames shot a scorching 50% from the field and 66% from three in the quarter. 

The Lady Toppers shot just 33% from the field in the game and 28% from three. Senior guard Tia Shelling led the Lady Toppers in scoring with 13, and junior forward Tatum Boettjer poured in 11 off the bench.

Liberty sophomore guard Avery Mills dominated with 17 points to lead the Flames in scoring. Mills scored 11 points in the third quarter to lead their scoring run. 

WKU started strong, shooting 45% from the field en route to an eight-point halftime lead. Sophomore guard Salma Khedr led the Lady Toppers in scoring with nine, but was held without a point for the remainder of the game. 

The Lady Toppers trailed 44-37 entering the fourth quarter, but fought back to cut the lead to one with under two minutes to play. WKU would score just one bucket for the final few minutes. 

The loss drops the Lady Toppers to 8-19 on the season, and 4-12 in conference play. The team sits outside the CUSA tournament picture at 12th place in the conference.

The Lady Toppers look to respond as they head back to Diddle Arena to take on Missouri State on Thursday. Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m.